A rare manuscript— a complete New Testament, handwritten in Greek— owned by the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago was handed over to representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church.
More than a thousand years ago, a monk named Savas hand-wrote the book and it became part of the sacred books of the Kosinitza Monastery near Drama in northern Greece.
In 1917 Bulgarian rebels looted monasteries in northern Greece and many of the relics, documents and rare manuscripts ended up on art black markets throughout the globe.
In an effort by the Greek Orthodox Church to retrieve relics and rare manuscripts that rightfully belong to them, numerous letters were sent after items scattered throughout the world were identified.
The tale of the Chicago manuscript and how it arrived is interesting.
Bulgarian looters took it to Sofia in 1917 during the chaos of World War I.
From there, it found its way to Munich, where antiquities dealer Jacques Rosenthal sold it in 1920 to Levi Franklin Gruber, a religious scholar who, in 1926 became president of Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, one of the institutions that later would merge to become LSTC in 1962.
The school made the manuscript available to students and researchers for decades and considered it one of its most prized possessions. They also photographed the pages of the book and created a website for future scholarly research.
Officials from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America reached out to the Lutheran seminary, requesting the return of the manuscript to its rightful owners.
In a ceremony in Chicago on November 15, 2016, the Lutherans passed over ownership of the manuscript to Archbishop Demetrios, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, who will return the book to the monastery in Greece from where it was originally looted. He was accompanied by Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago who helped arrange the transfer of the book.
Lutheran administrators said it was not only the right thing to do, but an act they hope will prompt other institutions to return antiquities to their rightful owners.
Archbishop Demetrios praised the move.
“Today, in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, our hearts are filled with gratitude to our Lutheran brothers and sisters for this generous and kind gesture” said Archbishop Demetrios.
“Nearly a century ago, our faithful lost an integral part of the treasures of our Orthodox faith and tradition when the library of the Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa (Kosinitza Monastery) was ransacked and many manuscripts, Codex 1424 included, were taken. We hope that other collections in the United States which also possess manuscripts originating from the Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa will follow the fine example set by LSTC and voluntarily return the manuscripts to their rightful home. Our gratitude to LSTC is enormous indeed for adhering to the original spiritual intent and moral mandate of the manuscript itself.”
From NBC Chicago Channel 5:
3 comments
Is the monk St. Savvas the Sanctified?
Greg:
I am not a frequent visitor to your site, BUT the times I have visited I have been most gratified to see numerous articles from different points of view, well researched and well written. I have become a more frequent visitor to your site because of the scandal that is currently afflicting our Greek Orthodox Church and the Archdiocese.
Our community NEEDS many more voices like your on the ‘net and in print that competently address issues of concern to us and which as far as I can see are devoid of a particular agenda.
I would urge all your readers to SUPPORT your efforts; our community has precious few resources to inform and advocate for our community and our faith. To that end, I am forwarding to you a check to continue your great work.
I was so gratified to read ( and only on your site ) about the decision of the Lutheran Theological School of Chicago to return to the Greek Orthodox Church that Thousand year old manuscript that was looted for that monastery in north Greece During the Balkan Wars.
I am sending a letter of thanks and gratitude to the Lutheran Theological School for their brotherly and magnanimous gesture of returning the manuscript to its Legitimate owners and also too thank them for their stewardship of this priceless artifact.
Again, I would also strongly urge all Greek Orthodox and people of conscience to also send expressions of gratitude to the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago for their returning of the manuscript.
May the Lutheran Church’s gesture serve as an example of good conscience and moral behavior to other institutions and individuals who possess religious articles to which they have no legitimate right to return those artifacts to their rightful owners and/or their heirs.